Pronunciation of Clementine

[Chamallo]

We’re having a girl and my front runner at the moment is Clémentine (I know the accent won’t be on passport).

Would you pronounce this Cle-mon-teen or Clem-un-tine (long i / eye sound)? Or something else?

And if this was your name, would it bother you if people (including different family members) pronounced it differently?

@Britneyfan , it's accepted as an 'English' name pronounced as Ev-anj-ul-een. I hadn't even thought of it as being French. The French is more like Evonzhleen.

She will be called Clem, which sounds like the noise you make when you clear your throat

It is if she's not though....

Which is why I said if...

As the OP hasn't said if she is french, the accent may not need to be lost.

Clem-en-tyne

I would pronounce it Clemen-teen like the fruit. I thought the pronunciation in the song was archaic/American (isn’t it a Wild West song?), it would never occur to me to pronounce it like that.

No one? I don’t believe that for a second.

Both Lou-ee and Lou-is are very commonly heard. My neighbours dog is Lou-ee for flips sake.

I’d pronounce it clem-en-tine

-tine as in Christine?
The accent on Clém makes it more a “claym” sound, not “clem”.

Prince Louis too!

I thought the "Lewis" pronunciation was more in America.

We named first son Louis as in French pronunciation. not Lewis. No one in UK could get it right !

My cousin is a Louis, the majority understand that because of the French kings & Louis Vuitton. No one got it right at all?

How to pronounce CLEMENTINE in English
How to pronounce clémentine in French
@LittleRobins

@Runsaway , I can't imagine anyone actually saying 'clem-en-tine' - would it be the same sort of pattern as 'stoke-on-trent'? 😕

OP hasn't been back to clear up the French aspect unfortunately. Her remark that the accent wouldn't be on the passport was a bit odd because the English pronunciation doesn't need an accent and the French pronunciation is not in doubt.

Someone's suggestion of Amandine would be even more open to interpretation by native English speakers.

I agree. Amandine could be Am-un-dine (like anodyne), U-man-dyne (like Amanda) , Am-ond-een, ...
Fleur would rhyme with Bleugh, Camille Cuh-meel, ...

I can remember Louis Tomlinson from One Direction saying that he’d been called ‘Lewis’ all his life in Yorkshire, until he became famous and everyone started calling him Loo-ey.

So? I imagine his half-sister Félicité was called Felicity. Up to the parents.
It doesn't mean the standard UK pronunciation of Louis is Lewis.

I'm American. We have an old song "Oh my Darling, Clementine" It is amusing but very unflattering to the Clementine of the song as each verse adds on another element of her appearance that is awful. We pronounce it Cleh-men-tine (like the tines of a fork). "Clem" in the U.S. is usually a man's name.

Clem-un-tine

That is the pattern, though.

I didn’t say it was. Someone asked which parts of the country… I said it was very common in the north until recently when ‘Looey’ has become popular.

In French, yes. but it's more like clé-mon-teen (Clé being somewhere between Cleh and Clay)

I thought it’s usually -teen at the end for the name, like Clementine Churchill.

I was about to say this my little girl has a friend at dancing called Clemmie

Clemmie is awful though

Clementeen. I hate that long 'i' that the Americans put in Clementyne and Elvyra (which should be Elveera).